Public Education Resources for Homeschoolers in North Carolina

• In Event: Curriculum, Contexts, and Considerations: Homeschool Research Breaking New Ground

Abstract

The parental choice to homeschool directly impacts education public policy, public school attendance, and public resource allocation. Approximately 26% of public school enrollment decline is attributed to homeschooling (Dee, 2023). Additionally, dual enrollment for homeschooled students in public schools has increasingly offered a hybrid approach for students in some localities (McShane, 2021). Furthermore, states are both deregulating and making more public education resources and funding available to homeschoolers, such as education savings accounts. As barriers decrease and resources for parents increase, homeschool practice is hypothesized to grow (Brown, 2021; Watson, 2024).

Theoretical frameworks of the homeschooling phenomenon have historically assumed that homeschool parents exit and want autonomy from school institutional and governmental oversight (Van Galen, 1988; Nemers, 2002). However, Jolly & Matthews (2018) theorized that a continuum in the practice of homeschooling existed where parents may be open to accessing resources from educational institutions outside of the homeschool. This study tests the homeschooling continuum theory by using an integrated constructivist grounded theory framework and methodology to understand homeschool parents’ engagement with public education.

Public education resources are provided by state and local education agencies to preK-12 students (i.e. proctoring, counseling, academic and extracurricular courses, sports, driver’s education, etc.). This study examines their availability to homeschool students in North Carolina, the awareness of these resources and their use by homeschool parents, and the factors which influence this use. This mixed-methods, nested case study used public policy documents, a 36-item survey, and follow-up interviews from parents. Analysis followed a grounded-theory approach and reached theoretical saturation. Descriptive summary and bivariate analyses statistics were performed on survey items. Qualitative analysis of policy documents and interviews used open, theoretical and constant comparative coding techniques.

At the state level, homeschool parents have specifically named access to an education savings account, community college dual enrollment, and virtual public school dual enrollment. However, the state allows each district to determine if or how public school resources and services provided through a local school district are available to homeschoolers (NCDOA, n.d.; NCSBE, 2024). Policies referring to homeschool students vary from one district to the next, and with 115 public districts in the state, homeschooling parents’ experiences differ depending on which district they reside in. Preliminary findings from the parent survey and interviews suggest a mixed awareness of available resources yet a willingness to use some resources, such as education savings accounts, if they are aware of and have access to them. Analysis is in progress.

With the concurrence of an increasing proportion of homeschooled children and the passage of ever more school choice legislation reducing homeschool regulation and increasing provisions for homeschoolers to access public educational goods and funds, this study is significant for the U.S. at this time. This study’s results are beneficial for homeschool research; practicing home educators; and public educators, policy actors, and policymakers who seek to serve the needs of homeschool families within their realm of influence.

Author

• Christy Batts, North Carolina State University